1. Field of the Invention
Applicant's invention relates to apparatus for manipulating or massaging the body.
2. Background Information
Stress, muscle fatigue, back aches, tenseness of the neck and shoulders all seem to evidence the rigors of modern life. An industry with many sub-components has arisen around manipulation of the body to relieve, at least at the physical level, the above signposts of emotional and physical stress and fatigue.
The passage, with slight pressure, of a rounded object over one's back is, for most persons, a very stress-relieving and comfortable action. Various devices have been designed to facilitate this--rollers on the end of handles, tracks of rolling balls, etc.
If a problem surrounds this most pleasurable form of "stress therapy", it is that it requires, as a practical matter, a willing second participant. It is hardly relaxing for one to give himself or herself a self-massage.
The easier and more comfortable the process of giving a back rub with an auxiliary device, the most frequently a hopeful recipient will enjoy the treatment. Rollers on handle ends tend to fatigue a user's hands very quickly because one must constantly resist a rotational force created as the device is pressed against the "patient's" back. Arrays of rollers between handles require two-handed operation, and are also less-than-comfortable to use.
It would be desirable, therefore, to design a device which facilitates a back massage with rounded patient contact points, yet is easy, comfortable and substantially nonfatiguing for the care-giver.